Kirk Cousins reveals what he told Michael Penix Jr. on phone call after Falcons benching

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins didn’t expect to be sitting on the bench behind a rookie this season. When the 36-year-old signed a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta in free agency, he expected to help transform the Falcons into playoff contenders. 

Through Week 9, the Falcons appeared to be on pace to meet the goal. Atlanta held a 6-3 record at the midpoint of the season, and their divisional sweep over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave them a comfortable lead for the NFC South title. 

Atlanta was on pace to win the division for the first time since their loss in Super Bowl LI. Then, the Falcons did what they do best: collapse in the second half. Atlanta lost their division lead after four consecutive losses, and another underwhelming offensive performance in Week 15 forced the team to make a change.

Kirk Cousins called Michael Penix Jr. immediately after benching

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced that the team would turn to rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. over the final three games of the season. Morris informed Cousins of the decision on a phone call on Tuesday afternoon. Cousins said he called the rookie right after that call, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.

"Just let him know I'd be in his corner and supporting him and trying to help him any way I can," Cousins explained. "I like to shoot elephants in the room, so I just wanted to shoot one."

In his first comments since the benching, the struggling veteran said all of the right things. Coming off of an Achilles’ injury at age 36, there is a lot of uncertainty about Cousins’ future. The NFL is a harsh and competitive business, and struggles are rarely tolerated from an aging player with a massive salary. 

Cousins threw nine interceptions in the past five games. While those numbers may be excusable for a rookie, they were unacceptable from a seasoned veteran. 

"It's pro football, and there's a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that unfortunately, I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough," Cousins said on Wednesday. "And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready — 'one play away' kind of a thing — and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that's what it's all about."

Cousins plans on supporting Penix in any way he can to finish out the season, but what lies beyond that will be an entirely different story. After the season, the Falcons will have to trade or release Cousins despite the massive dead cap hit.